That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1446 Are you the most troublesome one?
Pan Xiaoying stared at her husband, her eyes shifting between doubt and anger, then back to resentment.

She knew that Li Ye received royalties overseas, but she didn't know that Teacher Ke received royalties, and it seems that she was the only one in the family who didn't know.

This gave Pan Xiaoying the feeling that the Wen family didn't treat her as their daughter-in-law, but rather as an outsider.

Wen Guohua simply explained, "Things aren't what you think," and then fell silent, an attitude that only made Pan Xiaoying more unhappy.

Pan Xiaoying said helplessly to Teacher Ke, "Mom, it turns out you're the real tycoon of the family! I almost had to borrow money from the bank. I really didn't know you were so great."

Teacher Ke glanced at Pan Xiaoying, then calmly said, "Li Ye wrote a novel and asked me to help translate it. Although Xiaoyu said she would pay me royalties, I didn't take it seriously, so you shouldn't either."

Pan Xiaoying blinked and looked at Li Ye again.

But before Li Ye could speak, Wen Leyu said calmly, "Sister-in-law, you don't need to look at Li Ye. I'll manage that money. You can tell me what you need to say later. Let's eat first."

Li Ye had initially agreed to distribute the royalties from "Ice and Fire" in a 3:1:3:1 ratio, with one portion going to Teacher Ke. However, Teacher Ke entrusted Wen Leyu with managing the money, so it is indeed now under Wen Leyu's control.

"So you're in charge of the money! That makes things much easier! Come on, let me toast Mom and Dad, wishing them good health in the new year, and good health year after year."

Upon hearing that the money was in Wen Leyu's hands, Pan Xiaoying immediately became the atmosphere-maker at the family banquet, beaming as if she had the money in the bag. However, she was extremely irritable inside because Wen Leyu, her sister-in-law, was the most troublesome person in the family.

After finishing their meal, Li Ye and Wen Leyu took the initiative to clear the dishes and go to the kitchen, so they could also take the opportunity to whisper to each other.

Wen Leyu said somewhat displeasedly, "Why did you bring up Mom's money? That money belongs to Mom, not my brother or sister-in-law. Aren't you just making trouble for Mom?"

While washing the dishes, Li Ye said, "When your sister-in-law was discussing the cooperation with you, did she mention that it was to help your little niece earn some income and secure her future?"

Wen Leyu tilted her head slightly: "You guessed it again?"

Li Ye chuckled and said, "Is there any need to guess? She can't possibly say it's for her own ambition, can she?"

"Actually, I think my sister-in-law has gotten a bit arrogant lately. I'm not talking about money, but on New Year's Eve she actually left her brother-in-law here alone to celebrate the New Year, and went back home with the children."

"We need to help my brother improve his status in the family, and more importantly, we need to make my sister-in-law understand that making money isn't as important as people think. Harmony is the foundation of a family's prosperity, and every decision she makes will affect everyone."

Li Ye packed his things and then said seriously to Wen Leyu, "Whether it's making money or any other decision, it must be made with the consent of both husband and wife. One person cannot give in to the other's wishes, otherwise, when the storm comes, you understand what I mean, right?"

"."

Wen Leyu gave Li Ye a deep look, then said with some reluctance, "I understand what you mean, but that money belongs to our mother and it's not tens of millions. I don't want my sister-in-law to squander it for nothing."

"Not tens of millions?" Li Ye asked, puzzled. "You followed Xiao Ruo's lead in stock trading? Did you lose or make money?"

Wen Leyu raised her chin proudly and said, "Of course I made a profit! How could I possibly lose money? I made a lot!"

Li Ye smiled and said, "Then you should go and discuss it with Mom in detail, and bring her in too. Don't let your sister-in-law make decisions alone in the future."

Wen Leyu tilted her head and looked at Li Ye, then suddenly smiled and said, "You want Mom to keep your sister-in-law in check, right?"

Li Ye chuckled softly, "Think whatever you want. My sister-in-law is too impatient; she's nothing like you and Mom."

Wen Leyu nodded slowly: "Okay, I'll go talk to Mom about it."

The young wife was incredibly clever and immediately understood Li Ye's intentions. Pan Xiaoying was from the Pan family, which had deep roots in the telecommunications industry. Pan Xiaoying's recent radical ideas were most likely influenced by the Pan family.

Li Ye is now asking Teacher Ke to use his own savings to support his son and daughter-in-law, in order to bring Pan Xiaoying to Lao Wen's side and avoid some unpredictable and uncontrollable risks.

A short while later, Wen Leyu called Pan Xiaoying to Teacher Ke's room, and the three of them, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and sister-in-law, began to whisper among themselves.

Li Ye, Wen Guohua, and their father-in-law Wen Qingsheng acted as caregivers, watching over the three children, Xiao Bao'er, Xiao Dou'er, and Xiao Linlin, play together.

Wen Guohua glanced at Li Ye and said with a hint of reproach, "You shouldn't have troubled Mom. She already worries a lot."

Li Ye glanced at Linlin, who was playing with building blocks with her older cousins, and wondered if her brother-in-law wanted to use Linlin to "repeat" what her mother said.

“I was thinking of having Mom talk to my sister-in-law and tell her that making money isn’t that important, at least not as important as family.”

"Tch, she'd never listen to a word I say!"

Wen Guohua was somewhat disdainful, clearly having given up trying to dissuade Pan Xiaoying.

But at this moment, Wen Qingsheng said, "Guohua, your thinking is wrong. Xiaoying has many children in her family, and her experiences growing up are different from yours and Xiaoyu's. That's why she's desperately trying to prove herself and show others."

"."

After hearing Wen Qingsheng's explanation, Li Ye understood.

This is similar to some women I've seen in my past life; most of them came from ordinary families, so they were all desperately "ambitious," not only striving for success themselves but also pushing their husbands to do the same.

However, sometimes they fall into a trap: they complain that their husbands are old-fashioned and lack ambition, only to find out later that their husbands are actually rich from land expropriation and have tens of millions in savings.

With this family's wealth, do they really need to work hard to earn that extra five or six thousand yuan?

Li Ye is revealing Teacher Ke's secret stash of money to make her understand that her family is not short of money. She should earn some when there is a suitable opportunity, but not force it if there is no opportunity, and she should not take unnecessary risks.

However, after Wen Qingsheng explained things to his son, Wen Guohua still seemed unconvinced and lay on the sofa in a daze.

Li Ye took it to heart and began to secretly observe Wen Guohua. After more than ten minutes, he suddenly noticed something in the way Wen Guohua looked at his daughter.

[Is my brother-in-law some old-fashioned, conservative type who dislikes that Pan Xiaoying gave birth to a daughter?]

In the 1980s and 90s, mainland China was in an era where "it's good to have only one child, boys and girls are the same." No matter whether you were an ordinary person or a high-ranking official, most people could only have one child. Li Kaijian's situation was extremely rare.

Some later analysts believe that this situation, to some extent, limited the solidification of the power structure. People born in the 1950s and 1960s with several children could not prevent their social class from falling. By the time it came to Wen Guohua's generation, the desire for an outstanding successor was even stronger.

You only have one child, and she's still your own flesh and blood. If she's hopeless and can't be helped, then all your savings will most likely vanish after you retire.

Whether you admit it or not, the higher you go in the power pyramid, the lower the proportion of women becomes. Therefore, situations like Wen Guohua and Pan Xiaoying are very detrimental to the continuation of a family line.

Thinking about how, decades later, that entrepreneur who liked to wear cloth shoes would eventually be revealed to have a whole brood of sons, Li Ye couldn't help but feel wary.

[I thought Pan Xiaoying was easily in danger, but it turns out her brother-in-law is the real troublemaker? Please, no!]

(End of this chapter)